Automatic starting device for motors.



J. P. SMITHERS, DECD.

H. & w. SMITHERS, BXEOUTORS.

AUTOMATIC STARTING DEVICE FOR MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY s, 1008.

1,072,187, Patented Sept. 2,1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

2V8 26 I LA 5 ATTORNEYS J. P. SMITHERS, DECD. H. A; W. SMITHERS,EXEOUTQRS. AUTOMATIC STARTING DEVICE FOR MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 1908. 1 072 181 Patented Sept Z, 1913.

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luvs/v10 u L'ypau ZSG/JA mzf {ekg r r 7 BY ATTORNEYS.

J. P. SMITHERS, DBGD.

H. in w. SMITHBRS, EXEOUTORS. AUTOMATIC STARTING DEVICE FOR MOTORS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 100a.

1,07%,1 87. Patented Sept. 2, 1913.

4 SHEETS-BHEBT 3.

WIT/VESSE INVENTOH wise 9 PFSrr IY AGLQ iini'rnn 's'rnrns rninnr onnicn.

JOSEPH P. siurrnnns, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK; HERBERT sm'rnnns AND WALTERSMITHERS nxncn'rons or SAID J SEPH P. SMITHERS, nncnasnn.

AUTOMATIC STARTING DEVICE FOR MOTORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21913.

Application filed July 8, 1908. Serial No. 442,515.

' a subject of the King of Great Britain, and

a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York,have invented certam new and useful Improvements in Automatic StartingDevices for Motors, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to automatic starting devices for internalcombustion engines and has for its object to provide means for startingexplosive engines operated by gas, gasolene or the like without thenecessity of cranking or turning the engine over by hand in. order togive the engine its first impulse.

A further object of my invention is to provide a starting device whichwill be free from the crank-shaft of the engine at all times except whenit is desired to automatically start the engine or to rewind the starterafter it has caused the engine to revolve by its own power.

To these ends my invention consists in providing an automatic starting.device for motors with means whereby it can be coupled to and uncoupledfrom the crankshaft of an engine when the crank-shaft is idle orrotating.

My invention also consists in an automatic starting device for motors inwhich in the first step the starter is coupled to the engine shaft, in afurther step a spring is released to rotate the engine shaft, in afurther step the spring is held from further unwinding but the starterstill remains coupled to the engine shaft and in a final step, thestarter is uncoupled from the engine shaft, all the steps being underthe control of a single operating lover or pedal.

My invention also consists in the novel means for re-winding the springof the starter and holding the same against unwinding.

My invention consists further in the details of construction andcombinations of parts hereinafter more particularly described and thenspecified in the claim.

In theaccompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section and partialelevation of a device constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig.2 is a transverse vertical sec tion taken on the line A, A, Fig. 1. Fig.3 is a similar section taken on the line B, B,

Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a top view'of a detail.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line C, C, Fig. 1 andillustrates the ratchet connection. Fig. 6 is a plan of a modificationof the detail illustrated in Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a vertical longitudinalsection through a starting device constructed as a modification of myinvention. Fig. 8 is a plan of a de tail of construction as used in themodification illustrated in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of adetail. Fig. 10 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line E, E,Fig.

7. Fig. 11 is a similar section taken on the line F, F, Fig. 7. Fig. 12is a similar section taken on the line G, G, Fig. 7. Fig. 13 is asimilar section through the rollerratchet connection and taken on theline D, D, Fig. 7.

1 indicates the usualcrank shaft of an internal combustion engine asusedin automobiles, motor boats, and the like and is provided at its endwith a clutch member 2 fixed thereto. i

In the preferred form of carrying out my invention, a casing, consistingof front and back plates or covers 3 and'side walls 1, entirelysurrounds and protects the various; parts of the device. Suitablyjournalcd in the end plates 3 of the casing is a shaft 5 preferably inline with the crankshaft It so as to form a continuation thereof and isprovided at its end adjacent to the crank shaft with a clutch member '6secured thereto against rotation independent of the shaft but capable ofsliding longitudinally thereon to cause it to engage with or bedisengaged from its, corresponding member 2. The clutch member 6 ismoved longitudinally on the shaft 5 by means of a lever 7 provided withlaterally projecting pins 8 which work in a suitable groove in themember (3, the lever being suitably mounted on the casing 3 and Operatedin a mannerto be presently described. While I have shown and prefer touse a crab-clutch to couple the crank shaft and the starter, it will beobvious that other suitable forms of clutches might be used withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

An internal gear wheel 9 is loosely mounted on the shaft 5'and providedwith an elongated hub 9' concentric with the shaft 5.

Intcrposed between the shaft 5 and the hub 9 are roller ratchcls 10working in eccentric slots 11, (see Fig. I) and which couple thagearwheel 9 to the shaft 5 and gear 9 to the shaft might be employed :as

and rewind the mechanism.

will readily suggest themselves to anyone skilled in theflart and moreespecially as the "shaft 5 only rotates during the very short space of.time necessary to start the engine I 12 indicates a coiled springsecured at one end to the hub 9 and atthe other end to the casing 4,said spring'being normally held under tension,- so that upon freeing thespring itjwill unwind from the center and rotate the hub. 9 and the gear9', it 'being'rewound from the center by a reverse rotation of the gearwheel 9, the outer end of the spring being rigidly-heldto the casing;

, Integral with or fastened to the gear wheel 9 so as to rotatetherewith is a pinion 13 which meshes'with a gear wheel 14 to which issecured a pinion 15 which is itself in'mesh-with a gear wheel 16. all ofsaid gears being suitably mounted to run freely in engaging a boss 18 onthe gear 16.

journals formed in the end plate of the easlng.

The'spring 12 when under tension, acts to rotate the gear-wheel 16 inthe direction of the arrow, but is prevented from rotation by means ofan eccentrically mounted roller 17 A link 19, secured to the stud towhich the roller 17 is keyed, is pivot-ally connected to a lever 20provided with a lug-or projection 21 at the end thereof. The eccentricroller 17 is normally held pressed against the boss 18 by the action ofa spring '22.

23 indicates a pivotally mounted lever, preferably in the form of afoot-pedal and to which is pivoted a bar 24 provided with a dependinglip 25 said lip being adapted to hit the projection 21 on the lever 20.The

.- bar 24 passes loosely through the lever 7 and the spring to unwind tostart the engine,

interposed between the lever 7 and lip 25 is a compression spring 26.Upon drawing over the bar 24 the s rin 26 is com )IOSSQCl and forces thetwo members of the clutch 2 and 6 together and couples the starter tothe crank-shaft. Upon further movement of the bar in the same directionthe lip hits the projection 21 and rotates the eccentric roller 17 whichfrees the gear 16 and allows The lever 23 reciprocates between stops 27and 28 secured to a segment 29 and so an ranged that when the leverstrikes the stop 27 the lip 25 has hit the projection 21. The lever 23is then freed and flies back due to the action of a sprin 50, but isprevented from returning to its original position against the stop 28 bymeans of a detent 31. whlch enters a notch 30 in the segment 29.

When the lever 23 comes to a stop at the ta-ting by its own' power, torewind the spring as will be presently described. Upon freeing the'detent 31 from the notch 30 the bar 24 makes a further backward.movement which causes a collar 32 secured to the bar 24 to strike thelever 7 and force the members of the clutch apart and uncouple thestarter from the now rotating crank-shaft.

Obviously in order to normally hold the gear 16 from rotating a rack anddetent might be employed, as illustrated in Fig. 6 instead of theeccentric roller or cam 17 and its attendant boss on the gear. 16.

33 indicates a pinion loosely mounted on the shaft 5 and provided with anumber of laterallyprojecting lugs 84, said pinion meshing with a gearwheel 60 having a pinion 35 fixed thereto, which pinion meshes with theinternal gear 9. It will thus be seen that when the spring unwinds thepin ion 33 will rotate freely upon the shaft A laterally projecting lug36 extending from the gear 16 at or near the outer edge rotates with thegear 16 when the spring is released and comes around and strikes theunder side of an arm 37 secured to a rock shaft 38.

The rocjkshaft also carries a forked lever 39 t which engages a collar40 on the shaft 5. The collar 40 is keyed to the shaft. 5 but capable oflongitudinal movement thereon and is provided with a numberof lateralprojections or lugs 41 corresponding to the lugs on the pinion 33, sothat when the projection strikes the under side of the arm 37, thecollar 40 is locked to the pinion 33, thereby coupling said pinion tothe shaft. This mechanism constitutes the meansfor winding up thespring. The forked lever is preferably constructed with a flexible orspring yielding shank as at 39 so .that

loo

should the lugs on the collar 40 not coincide exactly with the notcheson the pinion 33 when it is desired to couple the two together, theshank 39 will yield and store up energy to force the two memberstogether when the lugs and notches do coincide which will take placeupon a further revolution 0" the collar 40. l

In the operation of the device, assuming that the spring has beenpreviously wound up and held under tension by the eccentric roller orcam 17 the operator ,forces the lever 23 against the stop 27 whichaction first throws in the clutch members 2 and 6 and couples the shaft5 to the crank shaft 1 and then releases the gear wheel 16 as previouslydescribed by turning the cam 17 in the direction of the arrow 42. Thespring unwinding rotates the internal gear wheel9 and its hub 9 whichautomatically couples to the shaft 5 by means of roller ratchets l0 andcauses the engine shaft 1 to be turned over when the usual cycle of theengine takes place and-the shaft 1 is caused. to rotate by powergenerated in the engine itself as is usual in the art. As soon as thewinding of the spring, the gear 16 revolves in the direction of thearrow until the lug 36 strikes the under side of the arm 37 whichcouples the collar 40, which is revolving with the shaft 5, to thepinion 33, free on the'shaft, which rotates the internal gear 9 in thereverse direction through gear and pinion 35 and winds the spring, thegear 9 being free to rotate in the oppo site direction to the directionofrotation of the shaft owing to the roller ratchet connection. When thecollar 40 is coupled to the pinion 33, the gear 16 is also caused torotate in the opposite direction to the direction when unwinding thespring and the 111 I 36 comes around and strikes the top 0 the arm 37and draws apart the collar 40 and pinion 33 which causes the winding upoperationto cease. At the same time that the lug 36 throws out thewinding mechanism, the rise or boss 18 is engaged by the cam '17 and thegear 16 is held against the action" of the spring. After the spring hasbeen re-wound, which is after the engine has been running for a minuteor so, the operator releases the lever 23 from the notch 30 and thestarter is uncoupled and remains free from the engine until it isdesired to again use it. This is a valuable feature as it prevents wearon the parts of th starting device due to its continued running with theengine, as'is the case where the starter is se curely fixed to theengine shaft.

Should the engine not take up under its own power after being given theinitial impulse by the starting device, the starter can be rewound by,merel turning the shaft 5 by means of an or inary starting crank placedon the exposed end of the shaft as vusual, after which the starter canagain be coupled to; the crank-shaft-and the spring released. Or,ifdesircd to turn the engine over by hand, the shaft 5 can be coupledtothe crank shaft and turned over by a crankhandle on the end of the shaft5, the spring 12 and attendant gearing not being afiected by thishand-cranking.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. '1 and the following figures,the device operates in the same manner as the preferred form illustratedin Fig. 1. In this modification a spiral spring 51 is utilized to givethe initial im ulse to the crank shaft and is preferably ocated in aseparate casing 52 which may be mounted at a distance from the rest ofthe starting device. The spring is secured at one end to the casing 52and at the other to a shaft 53 which is connected by means of suitablesprocket wheels and a chain 54: to the internal gear wheel 9. In thismodification the ratio of the train of gearing is different from that inthe form shown in Fig. 1 but the operation remains the same. The mainadvantages of a device constructed in accordance with the modificationare that the starting device as a whole is cheaper to manufacture, thestarter-box proper is much smaller, and an extremely powerful spring canbe utilized without having to excessively increase the size.

What I claim as my invention is In an automatic starting device formotors, the combination of a shaft, a carwheel loosely mounted on saidsha t, a spring normally held under tension, adapted to rotate saidgear-wheel, means adapted to couple said gear wheel to said shaft when.

said spring is released and means actuated by the unwinding of saidsprin to automaticaly couple said gear-whee to said shaft to cause saidgear-wheel to rotate in the reverse direction to wind said spring tostart said shaft.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York this3rd day of July A. I). 1 908.

JOSEPH P. SMITHERS.

Witnesses:

LILLIAN BLoNn, LAWRENCE P. Rummy.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for flve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0.

